[Video] Children making sounds of hope

Last month, I led a bloggers trip to Guatemala to witness child sponsorship at work and experience a snapshot of the impact that World Vision is having on communities there. One of the programs we visited was World Vision's music school and the Sounds of Hope youth orchestra, a program that is truly bringing new life to these rural communities and helping to make children's dreams come true.

Through music, these children of Guatemala are able to have a dream, and more importantly, have a reasonable hope of achieving that dream. In a country still dealing with a recent civil war -- where many children either leave school to work and help support their families or are pulled into the violence of gangs -- a career in music is a chance at a different life, a new hope. Hector is a Sounds of Hope cellist who has earned himself a seat with Guatemala's national symphony orchestra. He's featured in this video about the youth orchestra:

In the video, maestro Martín Corleto says that the music program "showed me that with music we can really change people's lives." The students who learn music through World Vision's Suzuki Method teaching school have the opportunity to play with Sounds of Hope -- which performs all over the country -- or eventually to teach for the orchestra; many of the instructors perform alongside their students. From here, they may go on to teach professionally, or they may become professional musicians, like Hector. While pursuing their dreams of a career in music, these students learn discipline, teamwork, fine motor skills, and the language of music while staying in school and building a stronger foundation for their education. World Vision's mission is for all children to have life in all its fullness; through the Sounds of Hope youth orchestra, these children in Guatemala have a real chance at that life. Matthew Brennan is the blog manager at World Vision U.S.